Ladylike CosmoPrep

This navy Jones New York suit is what I wore to my swearing in ceremony. The statement necklace is Simply Vera Wang and the peplum ponte knit top is from Dorothy Perkins. My shoes are Artic Gray Lands End pumps, and before I forget the purse is my trusty Dooney & Bourke large zipzip.

I loved this dark saturated palette and felt like it was appropriate for the occasion. I cuffed the sleeves but failed to scrunch them as I had intended for the pictures -- but you get the idea.

Now, I have to set about the business of finding a "real attorney" job. For now I am just happy and content to savor the moment -- tomorrow will take care of itself. 

This outfit came together with little effort once I decided that I wanted to wear gray with yellow. I love this combination with white and I'm channeling my inner Angie with a half tuck and white belt. My pants are less than crisp as I snapped this photo at the end of what seemed to be an endless day. I'm looking forward to getting sworn in tomorrow morning. I'll definitely have my "real attorney" garb handy.
Let me know what you think.

So the sweater under my jacket is a beautiful shade of merlot. I picked it up while shopping this past Saturday with Beth Ann. It's mohair, which I have loved since I was a child. I'd been looking for something else other than a white button-down to pair this skirt with and I think I put together a nice equestrian inspired outfit. What do you think?

So, I had a few technical difficulties this week. My dear Macbook is almost 5 years old and this is what I wore to pick up some essential accessories (battery and power cord) that gave out completely earlier this week. It's not exactly easy to post when your computer will not hold a charge. :-)

Anyway, I snapped this on the way out the door to pick up my essentials. I'd been searching for a "vegan" leather jacket in this color for a reasonable price. I happened to be running around downtown on my lunch and found this at DressBarn. Something Angie said about leaving no retail stone unturned entered my head as I triumphantly handed over my debit card. I paired this camel colored jacket with shades of blue and teal. I am also wearing my new Lands End waterproof boots. Thanks for looking and Happy Friday!  

Today I am wearing a classic black sheath with a wildly printed top underneath. I felt happy wearing this outfit. It is a reprise of an outfit I wore last fall. The colors are quite "fall" and I am still sporting party hair ;-) 

I am sorry I did not respond to every one who shared their insight with me on my last post. So much of what you all wrote rang true to me or was simple good advice. 

Up until my revelation earlier this evening I was disappointed about my party -- the lack of attendance. It was hard for me to admit I was disappointed but there it was. Then I realized that I have different values. I bring all of myself to my interactions with people. I'm not kidding when I say "we should get together" or "let's have lunch". I value authentic expression and expect that others are being authentic until they give me a reason to believe that is not true. Not everyone else is comfortable being who they are or telling the truth about themselves and their preferences. They breeze through relationships with platitudes, pleasantries, and empty smiles.  Clearly, in my bliss I'd forgotten this information.  As a result I'd fallen into the trap of thinking that my definition of friend is the same as everyone else's. I guess I've come to the realization that words like, "awesome", "rockstar", "superstar", "icon", "diva", and  yes, "friend" are words that have become so overused as to mean less than nothing. 

It struck me that I probably know my real friends' physical addresses and phone numbers by heart; that wasn't the case for the people who said they'd come then chose not to show. I'm sure there's a catchy hash tag phrase in there somewhere, but I'll let you all decide what that is. 

Happy Monday! 

UPDATE: 10.27.13

I usually do not return to threads to update them but I thought this was important for people who will read this after my feelings have passed. I have come to a sense of peace about this party. I was reflecting today as I reorganized my closet. (I'm putting away the summer stuff and pulling out the winter clothes.)

This whole situation was a gift and a graduation of sorts. It was a gift because this was the opportunity I needed to see who in my life had values aligned with my own. I needed to do some long neglected reorganization of my friendships. I love to use metaphors to illustrate my point, so bear with my while I change into a Grayhound bus. As a Grayhound bus. I pick up people (relationships) who come along for the ride -- some get off at certain turns and stops others stay on for the long haul. 

Since I got the idea 10 years ago that I need to change my career and pursue becoming a tax attorney, people have been slowly getting off every time I make a new stop on my journey and not many people have been getting on or staying on. Over the course of these 10 years I picked up a co-pilot (DH) and his support means more to me than a bus load of people. Ridership was going down and that was scaring the heck out of me, but it did not scare me more than giving up on myself.  

This party resulted in a MASS exodus. People were running to get off the bus left and right and it scared me. (Am I going to be all alone???) But now I truly understand that the people left on the bus are in it for the long haul. The people who got off we telling me in their own way that they got on the wrong but and this was not the experience they'd signed up for. I have graduated to a whole new level in many ways (how I think of me, how others think of me, my sense of empowerment, etc., etc.) I deserve to associate with people who are just as proud and pleased with themselves as I am with myself.  I guess I had to realize the exodus wasn't about me -- I didn't do anything wrong, my breath doesn't smell, and I'm not a bad friend. I though this quote was quite fitting for the situation. I hope you enjoy it as much as I have.

So my first party guest has already arrived. My best friend from the DC area is staying with us through the weekend and I'm of course still preparing for the party. This outfit combines my need for warmth with my new fascination for deep reds this season. Happiness factor is very high. My next post will be my party outfit. I think I know what I'll wear but then you never know how you'll feel the day of about a pre-planned outfit. Happy Thursday ;-)

I must be on a roll. It took less than 5 minutes to plan this outfit last night. I really wanted to wear this vivid juicy shade of green with the caveat that I had to be warm. My office is like a freezer (at least where I sit!). I love green with white, touches of gold, and blue. Yep, pretty nautical but I think this stops short of being a literal interpretation.

I'm wearing:

• Jacket - Kasper 
• Sweater - Old Navy 
• Navy Trousers - Banana Republic Martin fit 
• Gray Pumps - Lands End 

It's funny I've been in my current home for over 5 years and have never had a party. Preparing to have one this coming weekend took the entire weekend. DH was a big help going shopping with me and lugging all of out groceries and supplies up 2 flights of stairs. I guess this is the kind of outfit you wear when the spark inspiration is dimmed by scrubbing cleaning and chores :-) Shades of muted grays and purples rule the day.

Happy Monday!

Working full time for the first time in 5 years takes some getting used
to. It's not the work or the time I spend working it's the extra time I
have to build into my day for the commute! Sadly I work a 20-minute
drive from my home. However, on public transportation that same commute
is 50 minutes. Then of course I have to get up early enough to not be
rushed -- in my younger days I'd be out the door in one hour flat. I
also didn't eat breakfast, I didn't wear as much make up (eyeliner and
lipstick only), and I think I moved faster! :-)

So I put this outfit together last night under a time crunch because I have my final LLM course on Thursday nights. I remembered wearing these pieces together before. I did not however load up the pearls that time. Can I just say I loved this outfit? It's perfectly me, and I felt very much all of myself wearing it. I got the passersby double-take in this outfit, and people on the street
seemed to like it. I forgot to include my yellow tote in the pictures which picks up the yellow in the belt, but I think you all get the idea.

Apologies in advance as I don't look as fresh as I did this morning. This was taken after work, and after fighting traffic to grab my box of goodies (shoes and a pair of boots) from UPS. Can I just make a PSA and say that some of the highest quality well-made shoes I own are Lands End. They are quite comfortable (not crocs comfy, comfy for heels kind of comfy). They have cushioned leather insoles and leather soles. Lands End happened to be having a sale earlier this week 40% off all shoes so I picked up this pair in sweet potato and patent gray and these are the boots. I have totally digressed :-) but as I said in the beginning this has been a long week.

OK I'm rambling so I'll wrap it up now. Happy Friday!

I pulled this outfit together solely based on the sweater. I believe when I wore it before someone on the forum pointed out that it was the color of egg yolks from brown eggs (I'll take that). I like the fact that this sweater is a heavy weight cotton so it's warm enough to ward off the early morning chill but not so heavy that I'm uncomfortable when its warm in the afternoon. I paired this sweater with gray trousers and I think the scarf finishes it because the boots I'm wearing are super comfy and I did not want to have to take an extra pair of shoes. 

I'm wearing: 

Yellow tipped sweater - Banana Republic 
Black and gold silk scarf - Echo
long sleeve tee - Old Navy 
Gray side zip trouser - Talbots 
Black bootie - Franco Sarto
Black bag - Dooney & Bourke large Zipzip

Thanks for looking ;-)